THE chances of a dialysis patient dying from Covid-19 in Trinidad and Tobago is one in three.
This is according to Clinical Co-Ordinator of the North-West Regional Health Authority (NWRHA) Dr Emile Mohammed at the Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Monday.
He said that information from the parallel health care system indicated that within the last six months, 30.5% of dialysis patients who contracted Covid-19 also succumbed to the virus.
Dr Mohammed said that of the 259 patients cared for in the parallel healthcare system, approximately one in three patients died. The 259 patients represent 14% of the local dialysis population.
Three centres are designated for such patients at Arima General Hospital, Couva Hospital and Multi-Training Facility and the Augustus Long Hospital in Pointe-a-Pierre with the centre at the Arima hospital being the largest, he said.
Dr Mohammed said, “Within the last six months from May to October, those three centres have accommodated 259 dialysis patients. This number does not include the emergency patients who needed emergency dialysis in our ICUs and our HDUs. The majority of these patients are our regular dialysis patients and this information is extremely worrisome.
“Of these 259 patients 30.5% have died from Covid so for a kidney or a dialysis patient, the chances of dying of Covid is almost one in three. That is how devastating is has been for our dialysis population.”
He said that dialysis patients because of treatment were forced to have close contact with others, he pleaded for patients to get vaccinated with three doses of a vaccine.
Due to having a suppressed immune system, dialysis patients may not produce an adequate antibody response, therefore Dr Mohammed encouraged patients to seek the third primary dose to increase immune response.
“Research is showing that a third dose of your vaccine does improve your antibody levels and does give you protection as a dialysis patient,” he said.
Dr Mohammed said that the ministry has implemented an extensive education programme for patients in dialysis units by use of educational literature, posters, answering questions as well as offering vaccines at dialysis units to increase vaccine uptake.
